Watch moment Iran successfully launches Simorgh satellite carrier

Iran has successfully launched its domestically-manufactured Simorgh carrier, whose mission is to put Iranian satellites into the orbit.

According to Tasnim news agency, the launch was carried out by Imam Khomeini Space Center.

The report added that Simorgh satellite carrier is able to put satellites weighing as much as 250 kilograms at an orbit about 500 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.

The report said Imam Khomeini Space Center is responsible for all operations related to satellite carriers, including preparation, launch, control and steering.

Iran’s Imam Khomeini Space Center conforms to the latest international standards and after final phase of its development, the base will be able to meet all the country’s needs at Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

The launch signals official inauguration of Imam Khomeini Space Center.

In December last year, Iran’s minister of information and communications technology said the country was planning to send a new domestically-manufactured satellite into space by the past Iranian calendar year (ending on March 20, 2017).

Mahmoud Vaezi added that Iran planned to send two more satellites into space by the end of the next Iranian calendar year (which ends on March 20, 2018).

The three satellites have been manufactured by young Iranian experts in research centers at the country’s universities, the minister said.

He also noted that Iran was about to sign a contract with a Russian company on the manufacture of a remote-sensing satellite.